The term denial as used here could be misunderstood. Ordinarily, denying something that actually happened is thought of as lying. While addictive behavior does include lying, denial in addictive thinking does not mean telling lies. Lying is a willful and conscious distortion of facts or concealment of truth. A liar is aware of lying. The denial of an addictive thinker is neither conscious nor willful, and the addict may sincerely believe that he or she is telling the truth.
